What do you do if you find black mold in your house?
June 1st, 2011 | 
Author: We just moved into a house on June 15th, which we’re renting. The day we moved in we started to realize that around the back door it was COVERED with black mold. Now, I’ve read up on the type of mold that it is and it’s very toxic! Everyone in my house is sick, and my landlord won’t take care of it! What should I do? We’ve already contacted the health department, and they don’t seem to take us seriously. I’m not sure whether to contact an attorney, or not. We gave this woman $1200 to move in, and we’re in the process of planning a wedding too, so we can’t afford to just up and move out until the end of August at best. What should we do until then? I have a newborn in my house, along with 2 other children! PLEASE HELP!!
Posted in Landlord Tenant Law
document everything
take them to court.period, you’ve been screwed.
PS – I COULDN’T GET A REPLY THROUGH TO YOUR E-MAILS SO i’VE ADDED IT HERE:
Where do you live? I am in Canada (Ontario) and I know that our Landlord/Tennant act has laws built in for this kind of situation. Also, I would contact a community legal service. They usually give you free legal advice.
In the immediate meantime, try to borrow not only a dehumidifier, but an air purifier (preferably HEPA or Ozone) to get the spores out of the air for the safety of yourself and your children. Hepa filters the spores out, Ozone actually destroys them, but its unlikely you know anyone with one of those as they are very expensive. In larger cities you can sometimes rent a unit.
Heck, if you’re anywhere near me I’d be happy to loan you my HEPA unit.
Kelly
If its just on the door it can be easily removed with Tilex. You should report the problem to your landlord, in case you need to terminate your lease if it comes back. In my experience, surface mold will be instantly killed with Tilex or simple bleach and water. A dehumidifier will prevent it returning (excess moisture).
So, advise your landlord – take pictures BEFORE you clean it up, then see if it stays away. It could just be from someone leaving the door open in the moisture. However, you are correct that black mold is dangerous. That kind is usually well into the drywall and hs to be ripped out. Doesn’t sound like yours is.